(STIBA.ac.di) Makassar – The prolonged dry season affecting Makassar and most areas of the country has had broad-ranging impacts on people’s lives. Failed harvests, wildfires, and a clean water crisis are among the problems faced. The reduction in the volume of river water, which is widely used for electricity generation, has also led to decreased power supplies in various regions. The campus community of STIBA Makassar is also feeling the effects.
The absence of rain in October served as the reason for thousands of STIBA Makassar students, residents of Antang, and surrounding areas to gather, carrying the same feelings and burdens, to perform the Istisqa (Istisqa) prayer or seek rain.
STIBA Chairman Ustaz Dr. Akhmad Hanafi Dain Yunta, Lc., M.A., served as the imam and khatib. In his sermon before the thousands of worshipers, he emphasized that humans’ need for rainwater is evidence of the dependence of humanity on Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.
“We are all dependent on His mercy and all His gifts, no matter how high or great a person is, they will never be able to live without the grace of Allah,” he expressed in the Istisqa prayer sermon at the Uhud Field of STIBA Makassar, on Saturday (07/10/2023).
Furthermore, Ustaz Akhmad also reminded that Allah’s wrath is often a result of human actions.
“The widespread acts of disobedience, such as the practice of magic, usurious transactions, adultery, LGBT, corruption, breach of promises, and so on, all of these are reasons why Allah tests and challenges us,” stated the STIBA chairman firmly.
“May this situation awaken all of us, the entire nation, ordinary citizens or the government, the marginalized or officials, the forgetful or celebrities, that this earth belongs to Allah,” he hoped.
Ustaz Akhmad also called on the congregation to increase their istighfar (seeking forgiveness) and ask for forgiveness from the Almighty Allah to bestow His beneficial rain as a sign of His mercy.
